Get the scoop from the 2015 Phillies Ballgirls as they share their experiences

MLB People All-Stars Among Us

Major League Baseball in conjunction with People magazine has launched a campaign looking for “People All-Stars Among Us.” The top All-Star in our area will travel to St. Louis for the July 14 All-Star game to be honored during the festivities.

We each have run across an amazing person making a difference in the community make. While All-Stars in your book we would like others to learn of these efforts. By visiting www.peopleallstars.com you can share the stories of individuals working to make your community a better place. Nominations must be 50 words or less, include a photograph and the All-Star must be at least 16 years of age. A photograph can be a group shot or organizational logo and the birth date can be approximate. The deadline to submit is Friday, May 22 and voting will take place June 8-24. Please share this information with your community. We hope to see one of our local All-Stars standing tall among Major League Baseball’s All-Stars.

Below are the All-Stars Among Us…

ChristyMy neighbors have always been an important part of my life. In fact, my brothers and I have always thought of them as a second set of parents because of their kindness and contributions to our own lives.

Not only have they helped us to succeed in life, but they have also selflessly given to others in the community as well. A couple of years ago, a family in our town suffered from a severe fire in their home. Many of the family’s belongings were lost and the family was left without a home for some time. My neighbors, who own a second house in our community as well, offered the family their second home for free while they worked to repair their fire-damaged home. The family suffering from the fire graciously accepted my neighbors’ generous offer and stayed in the house until they were able to move back into their home. I believe that my neighbors’ generosity and concern for another family in our community makes them all-stars!

Katie TFor about 18 years, Betsy Billie has been an “all-star” in the West Chester community. Over the years, she has contributed so much of her time and heart to help families in need.

Betsy started out as a kindergarten teacher and then moved her way up to Executive Director. In her years, she has written numerous time-consuming grants in order to receive many new and updated toys, furniture and a playground! She is an ultimate advocate whether she is supporting the families and/or staff and is very knowledgeable in her career. For the staff, she has increased bonuses and yearly raises in a line of work that is known for very low wages. She continues to be actively involved by making phone calls to get more information or to check up on families or to build connections with the community her day care serves.

Her hours spent at the workplace and doing work for the center are innumerable. She frequently comes in early and stays late including weekends. She will give you a ride to wherever if you need one. Talk about busy; she barely has time to take a bite of her sandwich when she is already lending an ear to someone. She makes her staff and families a priority while building close relationships with all of them.

Her love, understanding, patience and generosity are apparent in all that she has accomplished and established for the staff and families of the WCADCC community

DebbieI would like to recognize the entire Philadelphia Police Department as our All Stars. These men and women put their lives on the line each and every day, facing real criminals with very real and dangerous weapons, to protect our communities and our families. Police Officers dedicate their lives to working in an occupation where life and death too often meet; they wear their uniforms proudly and perform their duties with strength and courage, as well as compassion. They’re faced with circumstances not everyone would like to encounter; they are protectors who go above and beyond to serve their community. These remarkable people demonstrate ceaseless dedication and bravery, as well as selfless courage and heroism, just to protect the citizens in our communities. So I would like to applaud the Philadelphia Police Department, all Law Enforcement, and especially those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for us all. Thank you for all you have done and still continue to do to keep us safe. You are my “All-Stars”!

SamI feel that all teachers deserve to be noticed as an all-star. The teachers that I have learned from have provided me with the information and skills that I needed to be successful in the next stage of my education. One teacher that sticks out in my mind is my English teacher from my senior year of high school. Mr. Kulak was the teacher that truly prepared me for college and was the only teacher that got me to enjoy reading (he was actually the only teacher that got me to finish an entire book). If it wasn’t for him I would have been extremely overwhelmed with the college experience in general.

One of the activities we would do actually helped me with the tryout process to become a Ballgirl. Every Friday we would do a public speaking activity called “The Hot Seat”. Each student would get asked a random question and would then have to answer on the spot in front of the entire class. This activity helped me during tryouts when Scott Palmer was interviewing me. The interview part was the most difficult part of the tryout for me because I had never done anything like it before. Right before I was called in I just kept saying to myself “It’s like the Hot Seat”. That calmed me down and made feel a little more confident going in there. I am about to graduate college in June, and it has made me think of all the people that have helped me get to where I am today. Mr. Kulak is definitely one of those people!

Katie HNick DeSantis is a true All-Star. At just 24 years of age, he saved his good friend Jason Kilderry’s life. Jason was diagnosed with Polycystic Kidney Disease at the age of 14. This is a degenerative genetic disease that he and three other family members had. Even though Jason had this kidney disease, he still went on living his life as normal as possible. Jason and Nick were both on the Rowan University’s Cross Country team together which is where they first became good friends. About a year ago, Jason’s kidneys started to fail. He was in and out of hospitals dealing with this life threatening disease. Jason eventually had to have both of his kidneys removed. Doctor’s told Jason that it was time to start searching for a kidney donor. Out of all of Jason’s friends, the only match was Nick DeSantis. Nick had to make the biggest decision of his life and agreed to give Jason one of his kidneys. On April 9, 2009, Jason successively received one of Nick’s healthy kidneys. Today, Jason is finally living a healthy life. Because of Nick’s gracious gift, Jason will eventually be able to fulfill his life’s passions of running, triathlons, and training others. Nick DeSantis is without a doubt the biggest All-Star in my community.

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